


Your Miserable Friend, Lewis Carroll

by starsintheirpies



Category: Lewis Carroll - Fandom
Genre: based on a letter, he so cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 14:56:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10642203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsintheirpies/pseuds/starsintheirpies
Summary: A little story based on a letter that Lewis Carroll wrote to a girl he accidentally stood up in 1867.Dedicated to Charles Dodgson, my all-time favourite author.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [An Apology Letter](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/284103) by Lewis Carroll. 



> This probably is the first Lewis Carroll fanfic ever.
> 
> Enjoy.

> _My dear Annie,_
> 
> _This is indeed dreadful. You have no idea of the grief I am in while I write. I am obliged to use an umbrella to keep the tears from running down on to the paper. Did you come yesterday to be photographed? And were you very angry? Why wasn’t I there? Well the fact was this…_

The great sun shone in the sky so blue on this warm afternoon. He had been walking for miles with his old friend, all the way from Oxford. They’d been following the river Thames, chatting the hours away in that lovely summer day.

> _I went out for a walk with Bibkins, my dear friend Bibkins — we went many miles from Oxford — fifty — a hundred, say._

The two eventually found themselves in a field of sheep, and the fluffy animals gathered around to smell the clothes of these curious new faces. As he petted one of the sheep, a thought came across. With widened eyes, he slowly turned to his friend.

“Dobkins, what o’clock is it?” he asked, feeling as if his stomach was in a knot inside him.

“Three” replied his friend.

Tears began to well up in his eyes as he frantically went back and forth between the sheep, hands covering his face. “It’s the _hour_!” he shouted with tears rolling down his cheeks and dripping down on his clothes.

“Tell me, Hopkins” he said with the terror evident in his voice. “What day is it?”

His friend, who was beginning to get worried by his behaviour, simply stated: “Why, it’s Monday of course! What is the matter with you Charles?”

“Oh dear! I am late! I am very late! Mopkins, you are my oldest friend. Do not deceive me. What year is it?”

“Well, last time I looked in my calendar it was 1867. I _think_ it is 1867; I am certain of it. Yes, it _is_ 1867.”

He lost all hope and wished that it would be the wrong day. But alas, it was Monday, three o’ clock, 1867. He had completely forgotten about the young girl he was supposed to photograph. It was a mistake he never could forgive himself for. He sat down on the ground, with tears in his eyes as a few sheep gathered around him. As he petted one of them, he looked over at his friend.

“Zupkins, we must go home. I have an apology to write.”

“Very well Charles."

> _It was all over: I was brought home, in a cart, attended by the faithful Wopkins, in several pieces._
> 
> _When I have recovered a little from the shock, and have been to the seaside for a few months, I will call and arrange another day for photographing. I am too weak to write this myself, so Zupkins is writing it for me._
> 
> _Your miserable friend,_
> 
> _Lewis Carroll_

**Author's Note:**

> I know it's not the best piece of fiction but I was so eager to put it up here that I couldn't wait any longer! I hope you've enjoyed this lousy written story. Maybe, when I have the time, I will come back to it and finish it. But for now, it stays like this.
> 
> Notes on the text:
> 
> 1\. I tried to stay as close to the letter as possible. Extract from the letter is shown in _italics_. 
> 
> 2\. Yes, he changed the name of his friend every single sentence (it's really funny).
> 
> 3\. Lewis Carroll is adorable.
> 
> Thank you for reading this! :D


End file.
